The purpose of
this site is for information and a record of Gerry McCann's Blog
Archives. As most people will appreciate GM deleted all past blogs
from the official website. Hopefully this Archive will be helpful to
anyone who is interested in Justice for Madeleine Beth McCann. Many
Thanks, Pamalam

Note: This site does not belong to the McCanns. It belongs to Pamalam. If
you wish to contact the McCanns directly, please use
the contact/email details
campaign@findmadeleine.com

A detailed look at Kate's interviews showing how she reacts to questions
that probe the events surrounding Madeleine's disappearance.

Also, Kate's first interview without Gerry published in the Independent
on 08 August 2007 and Kate's interview with Women's Own magazine published 13 August 2007.

It should be noted that what follows here is a personal viewpoint based on a study of Kate's interviews. It should not
be regarded as an authoritative text and readers are invited to form their own opinions based on the points contained
herein.

Kate's displacement from the events of Madeleine's disappearance

First of all, it should be noted that transcribing what Kate actually says in her interviews is
surprisingly difficult. Through observation of her talking on videos, she appears calm, articulate and in control.

However, when you begin to transcribe what she has actually said, it quickly becomes
apparent how she intersperses her words with lots of pauses, 'errms', nervous giggles/laughs, half constructed words
and noises - which may be the start of unfinished words or just pausing sounds. The tempo of her speach is also erratic
and she alternates between short bursts of extremely fast speech, when she feels under pressure, and long, drawn
out passages that are slow and almost become a drawl.

Although she presents a calm and controlled exterior to the world, her erratic and confusing
spoken word would appear to suggest that she conceals different emotions beneath her placid surface.

The first interview with Jane Hill from the BBC - 25 May 2007

This interview is interesting as it is the first interview given by the McCanns after the disappearance
of Madeleine. They had previously only given short, scripted statements.

Perhaps the most revealing question in the interview is this one:

Jane Hill: "I met people who didn't go to work for more than a week because everyday
they were down on the beach, searching the streets. Did you, as a mother Kate, just sometimes think 'I've got to go and be
out there with them. I want to go and just physically look as well."

Kate: (Pause) I mean, I did.
Errm... (Long Pause) Errm, we'd been working really hard really. Apart... I mean, the first 48 hours, as Gerry said, are incredibly
difficult and we were almost non-functioning, I'd say, errm, but after that you get strength from somewhere. We've certainly
had loads of support and that's given us strength and its been able to make us focus really so we have actually, in our own
way, it might not be physically searching but we've been working really hard and doing absolutely everything we can, really,
to get Madeleine back."

What is significant in Kate's answer here?

Four things: Kate's displacement
from the event, her inability to express what 'she' actually felt, an apparent, almost desperate, desire to promote a
'united' front and a reluctance to commit an answer to the question.

It is significant that she says "the first
48 hours, as Gerry said, are incredibly difficult". Her use of the word 'are' instead of 'were' is very revealing. It's
as though she's quoting something that she has been advised by a counsellor. 'The first 48 hours are the most difficult'.
What she has done here is displaced herself from the scene and is reporting on it, not from it.

It is also revealing
how she uses the word 'you' and, again, shows her displacement. She says: "after that you get strength from somewhere".
Why is she using 'you' in this sentence? The interviewer has asked her for her personal feelings. Why doesn't she say 'I got
strength...' or 'we got strength...' Again, she is placing herself outside the event, looking in.

She uses the
word 'we' six times in this brief quote because it would appear she's struggling to answer it, without revealing that
she has never actually searched for her missing daughter. Use of the word 'we' and also 'us', which is mentioned twice along
with Gerry's name, suggests she's trying to hide under a 'united' front. This suggests she feels vulnerable and
needs the support and leadership from Gerry to continue. The overall impression given is that they are not individuals, with
their own feelings, but a team who will not be diverted from the path they have chosen.

She also mentions the word 'really' three times, which could be interpreted as a conscious,
or subconscious, desire to convince the interviewer, and those watching, that she 'really' is telling the truth.

It
would appear from this passage that she's telling us, in a displaced way, how she thinks 'they' should
feel, not how 'she' herself really did feel. Why? Is it because she is nervous in her first interview or could
it be because she doesn't know how someone who has had their daughter abducted really feels?

Ultimately, Kate's answer, despite being wrapped in curious passages where she feels compelled
to mention the support they've received, is quite shocking. The fact is, despite locals giving up work for a week to
search the beach and streets for Madeleine, she has admitted that she never actually did any physical searching for her
missing daughter.

The only other question directed to Kate, specific to the disappearance was this one:

Jane Hill: 'And then on that Thursday night, Kate, when you realised that she wasn't
in her bed where you left her. Did you think even momentarily perhaps that she'd just woken up, wandered off of her own
accord, perhaps?'

Kate: 'Not at all, no' (There is then a pause, where Jane Hill may well
have expected Kate to elucidate the reasoning behind her bold answer but Kate doesn't say anymore - after an embarrassingly
long pause Gerry takes over and answers the question)

Jenny: 'There has been a lot of speculation as well though that the police have
treated you and your husband as suspects. How do you handle that kind of very personal speculation?'

Kate: 'I mean, I think you just gotta think to yourself... I mean, you
need the investigation to be thorough and, errm, you know, we'd welcome that really, errm, you know... you know, we've
got a very good working relationship with the Portuguese police and, errr, we've come a long way since the beginning of the
investigation. And I mean, the police were very open at the beginning saying everybody is a suspect and I think that's often the
case in, in many crimes as well'

As is common in Kate's answers, she often uses the word 'you' when she has been asked for her own
opinions. This would suggest she is placing herself outside the event. And yet again, when she feels vulnerable, she resorts
to frequent use of the word 'we' to remind us that she is part of a 'united' team.

By placing emphasis on the fact that 'we've come a long way since the beginning of the investigation'
it could appear that the most important aspect of the case, for Kate, is the investigation, not the recovery
of her daughter.

Jenny: 'Was she sleeping when you left her?'

Kate: (Long pause) 'Errm, yes, she was, yeah'.

Why should Kate need a significant pause to be able to answer that question? The immediate
impression from both the pause, her answer and the way she says it, is that she momentarily didn't know what to say.
But how could that be?

Jenny: 'What was your first thought, what did you think immediately had happened?'
(Upon discovering that Madeleine wasn't there)

Kate: 'Well, obviously I kind of looked and double looked and, errm, you know,
obviously, there was twenty seconds of, you know, she must be there (laughs). Errm, but there was no doubt in my mind
within (laughs) probably thirty seconds, errm, that Madeleine had been taken from that room. I can't go into the
reasons why I thought that but it was... no doubt whatsoever. And Madeleine wouldn't have walked out herself. I know
that.'

Kate gives an extraordinarily convoluted and inarticulate answer to a very simple question.

Jenny: 'And how will you deal with the guilt that will probably stay with
you forever of having left Madeleine alone?'

Kate: 'Well, I have actually come to terms a little bit with... with that,
Jenny, I mean, you know... I know the, errm, I know the situation that we were in that night and uh, I've said all along,
I didn't feel I was taking a risk. Errm, yeah, I... I do feel desperately sorry I wasn't with Madeleine at that
minute when she was taken. Errm, I'd also like to mention I've had so much support from so many people. I've had
so many letters and comments sent me.. sent to me from other families, and particularly other mums saying, you know, we
have done what you have done a hundred times over, do not blame yourself.'

There are three peculiar aspects to Kate's answer:

What does Kate mean by the phrase 'I know the situation we were in that night'?

Why does Kate say she is desperately sorry she wasn't with Madeleine 'at that minute when she was
taken'? She specifically emphasises 'at that minute' when she speaks.

Why does she seek to justify her decision to leave her three small children alone, every night
of the holiday, by suggesting that other families had done this a 'hundred times over'? This is surely a ludicrous
exaggeration. How many families have 'hundreds' of holidays with their children?

Obviously, interviews printed in the media are not such good indicators as the pauses and half-words
are edited out and the result is a sanitised version of the interview.

Yet again, though, Kate's answers to questions specific to the investigation follow a similar pattern
as above.

Some examples:

Kate: 'There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind she'd been taken. That's why
the fear set in. Then you go through the guilt phase.'

Again, in that last sentence, she appears to have displaced herself from the event and sounds like
she is quoting something she has been advised by a counsellor. She's not telling us how she, as a participant in
the event, felt. She's telling us, in general terms, what somebody would feel who went through that situation.

Kate: 'You don't expect a predator to break in and take your daughter out the bed.'

This is a curiously dismissive, casual and unfeeling way to describe the nightmarish abduction
of your own daughter. And again, she speaks as though she's placed outside the event, using 'you' instead of 'I' or 'we'.
As she is being asked for her personal insight, would it not have been normal to expect a response such as 'We never
expected a predator to break in and take our daughter'.

Kate: 'Why would you for one minute think something like that would happen?' It's
not like we went down town or anything.'

Again, use of the word 'you', displacing her from the event, in a defensive, dismissive and
almost aggressive statement.

Kate: 'You can't imagine in your wildest dreams that anyone would do something
like that.'

Why use of the word 'you' and 'your wildest dreams'? Why not say 'I never imagined in my wildest
dreams that anyone could do something like that.' Again, as before, it places Kate outside the event, looking in and recounting
a story.

Kate: 'That night runs over and over in my mind, and I'm sure people will learn
from our mistake, if you want to call it that.'

We can surely call leaving her three small children, under 4 years of age, alone in a dark and strange
apartment a mistake, at the very least.

It's also worth noting that in this interview Kate states:

'Maybe it was because it was family-friendly, because it felt so safe. That week we had left them
alone while we had dinner.'

This clarifies that the McCanns left their children alone every
night of the holiday, whilst they went drinking with their friends. And:

'I was checking for her. Then there was panic and fear. That was the first thing that hit. I was
screaming her name. I ran to the group. Everyone was the same.'

Kate clearly states that she ran back to the tapas restaurant to sound the alarm. Other witnesses
have suggested that she shouted to the group from the balcony of her apartment. Indeed, if she did run back to the tapas
restaurant, it would appear an extraordinary decision to leave the twins alone again, when she was 'immediately'
convinced that Madeleine had just been abducted.

(This interview can be read below)

Leicester Mercury interview - 03 October 2007

On the whole a banal interview but containing two strange moments from Kate:

Interviewer: When were you aware of the green and yellow Madeleine bands?

Gerry:
"It must have been quite early on. When did they start? I don't know."

Kate: "Time passed by so surreally.
It was the first few hours, then eight hours, then 24 hours, 48 hours, then 72 hours... I don't remember. Each day felt like
a week."

It is not clear what is Kate talking about here. The question was about the green and yellow
Madeleine wristbands but Kate appears to be answering a completely different question!

Interviewer: What can you say about the legal side? It's been widely reported that
Portuguese Inspector Goncalo Amaral has been relieved of his duties...

Gerry: "We can't comment on
that. We want to emphasise enough our thanks, to the people of Leicestershire who helped to raise this money and for the support
we have received. It's just so uplifting. A few nights ago, we had a curry with some friends."

Kate:
"It was just a takeaway, we weren't out having a meal."

Yet another curious interjection from Kate. Why is she so sensitive about going out for a meal?

It is clear that by the time Kate and Gerry did their interview for
Spanish TV Station Antena 3, Kate had been well briefed and rehearsed on answers to the questions. In many ways, it was
a series of small scripted statements rather than a spontaneous interview. That may be the reason why Gerry looked so unhappy,
because he was unable to control the course of the interview and was left at the mercy of Kate's performance.

In Kate's early interviews, with Gerry, she said virtually nothing,
preferring to let Gerry speak and control the interview. The Antena 3 interview was all about Kate and the need to show
emotion. However, the reported tears and four breaks in filming have yet to be seen. It should be noted that Kate holding
a hand over her forehead does not equal real emotion. Nor does wiping her hand across her cheek to remove a non-existent teardrop.

Short clip from Jane Hill interview - no physical
searching, 25 May 2007

Madeleine McCann: a household name today, for all the wrong reasons. Now
missing for 94 days, her smiling face still stares down at us from billboards, in cinemas ads and even on the back of taxi
receipts, although the 24-hour media snowstorm has subsided and the hoards of journalists camped out in Praia de Luz are all
but gone. 'Slowly, one by one, they're going home,' Kate, Madeleine's mother, admitted this week.

That truth is bittersweet.
For Madeleine's tragic family, the media has been crucial in keeping their daughter's disappearance in the public eye, but
our insatiable appetite for news is yet another exhausting burden they have been forced to bear over the past few months.

Kate still insists she won't be following the press pack home until Madeleine is safe back by her side. 'I've said
all along, I feel closer to Madeleine here, I feel closer to the investigation,' she told us. 'The thought of going back to
our happy family home is quite daunting. There probably are benefits to being at home, but at the moment I have to go with
my gut feeling.'

Speaking to Kate is a slightly unnerving experience. This poised, elegant woman who has kept her
nerve in the face of unimaginable horror, but who refuses to have her self-belief broken. 'There's no doubt we have some very
low times,' she concedes. 'The hope is still there. We're still trying very much to be positive. We have to keep going for
us and for the twins. And also for Madeline.'

But while she hopes, she also can't forget: 'I don't think it's easy
to switch off 100% from the situation that's for sure. There's always something hanging there. That little heaviness. Even
when we're having fun with the twins I can't help thinking, how lovely it would be if Madeleine were there. If the three of
them were playing together.'

'We have some better days and some not-so-good days. I guess it's dealing with it as
it comes.'

Despite tabloid reports last weekend of 'Cracker-style detectives' flying over from the UK to Portugal
(untrue as it turns out) and a reported sighting of the four-year-old in Belgium during the week, there has yet to be any
significant breakthrough in the McCann case. It's a hard fact for Kate and her family to take.

'I do have days when
I can't stop thinking about the situation and I feel so incredibly frustrated. A day goes by, a week goes by, a month goes
by. We know somebody knows something,' she points out.

Despite the frustration, however, she won't hear a word against
the Portuguese authorities: 'We actually have a really good relationship with them. They listen to our suggestions as well,
which is really kind, because they don't have to, we're not detectives! And they're willing to accept help from people who
have offered. I'm really happy with the way things are going.'

Happy, of course, being a relative word. When I ask
her about her relationship with husband Gerry, and how the past few months has affected them, she starts to say how lucky
she is to have him, but breaks stride to admit, 'Actually, I feel like I'm the unluckiest person on the planet at the minute.'

'We are very lucky that we have a very strong relationship,' she continues. 'We always have had. We always
talk a lot and it's even more important now that we do that. We've got different strengths I guess. We've been able to work
together and pull each other through at different times.'

Finally, before we finish and Kate moves on to the next
of many interviews scheduled for her day, there's time for one more heartbreaking admission. 'I hope you all get to meet Madeleine
one day soon.'

For the latest news from the McCann family, visit www.bringmadeleinehome.com. International Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0044 18 83 73 13 36, Crimestoppers
in the UK on 0800 555 111 or the Portuguese police on 00351 282 405 400.

Friday 3 August 2007

Kate's first interview without Gerry, published 05
August 2007

Published, The Independent: 05 August 2007

On Saturday, it will be 100 days since Madeleine McCann was snatched
from the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz. Interviewed for the first time without her husband, Madeleine's mother tells Lori
Campbell about the criticism they have faced, the support they have received and how she and her family have coped since that
dreadful night.

The one thing I have always been definite about is that I wanted to
be a mother. Then when we were trying for a baby and it wasn't happening, it was really hard. The longer it went on, the harder
it was. I saw my friends having children and I was really delighted for them, but it made me feel sad too.

We tried unsuccessfully for several years to conceive. There came
a point when we admitted we needed help. I was so desperate to have a child I'd try anything. I know IVF isn't everyone's
choice, but I wanted to try it. By that stage I was happy to start the treatment because it was taking the pressure off us
a bit. We had one unsuccessful attempt before Madeleine, and that was very hard. But when I got pregnant with Madeleine it
was just fantastic. It didn't seem true. I did a test at home so I could handle the result if it wasn't good. I was looking
at it thinking 'I don't believe that'. Then I went to the hospital and they checked it. I was really excited.

Madeleine's birth

Once we were past 12 weeks we were telling everyone. I swam every
day until the day she was born to keep us both healthy. It was a really uncomplicated pregnancy. I had no sickness, nothing.
It was so easy. I didn't know I was having a girl until she was born. [She smiles] There she was, perfect. She was lovely.
She had the most beautiful face. I'd thought I was going to have a boy, just based on instinct. That actually made it even
more special that she was a girl.

The first five or six months were really difficult. She had very bad
colic and cried about 18 hours a day. She had to be picked up all the time. So I spent many a day dancing round the living
room holding Madeleine. I remember trying to butter my toast with one hand and holding her in the other. We would watch the
clock and Gerry would come home and there would be three of us. Sometimes she just looked so sad with colic, and the three
of us would be cuddled together trying to get her through it. Like a lot of things, you go through that difficult, bad stage
and it tightens that bond. We've both got an incredible bond with Madeleine.

The twins are born

When the twins were born she was amazing, I keep saying that, but
she was. She was only 20 months old. She just handled it so well. She was still a baby herself ... [Kate's voice breaks and
she has to pause to stop herself crying] I'll try not to get emotional at this point. I just remember when they were born.
I'm going to get a bit upset now, sorry. When the time came to bring Madeleine in, it was in the evening. She came in and
... just her little face. When she saw the twins for the first time it was lovely. It was so nice, this expression. She sat
on the end of my bed.

We had the odd moment of course, such as when I was breast-feeding
the twins. There was a tired Madeleine walking about the room wanting attention. But she was remarkable the way she coped
with it all. She would look at me and say 'hold it, hold it,' meaning she wanted to hold one of the babies."

Holiday in Portugal

She was so excited about coming to Portugal. She was holding on to
another girl's hand walking up the stairs to the plane. She was no trouble on the flight, always chatting, and colouring in
or reading.

The kids had a fantastic time. We all did, but it was lovely seeing
them having fun. We did use the kids' club and very often did activities there. Madeleine in particular had a ball. They did
swimming, went on a little boat, went to the beach, did lots of colouring in and face painting. Madeleine is at the age where
she could really enjoy it.

They played tennis, which she loved, she was so happy. They had a
little dance prepared for Friday. It was a little presentation they were working on in the days before. I don't know what
it was, I never got to see it ...

On the evening she went missing, before she went to bed, she said,
'Mummy I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots and lots of fun.' [Pause]

That night

The night she went missing there was about 20 seconds of disbelief
where I thought 'that can't be right'. I was checking for her. Then there was panic and fear. That was the first thing that
hit. I was screaming her name. I ran to the group. Everyone was the same. It was just total fear. I never thought for one
second that she'd walked out. I knew someone had been in the apartment because of the way it had been left.

But I knew she wouldn't do that anyway. There wasn't a shadow of a
doubt in my mind she'd been taken. That's why the fear set in. Then you go through the guilt phase. Straight away, because
we didn't know what had happened. We were just so desperately sorry. Every hour now, I still question, 'why did I think that
was safe?'

I can't describe how much I love Madeleine. If I'd had to think for
one second, 'should we have dinner and leave them?' I wouldn't have done it. It didn't happen like that. I didn't have to
think for a second, that's how safe I felt.

Maybe it was because it was family-friendly, because it felt so safe.
That week we had left them alone while we had dinner. There is no way on this planet I would take a risk, no matter how small,
with my children. I do say to myself 'why did I think it was safe?' But it did feel safe and so right. I love her and I'm
a totally responsible parent and that's the only thing that keeps me going. I have no doubt about that.

You don't expect a predator to break in and take your daughter out
the bed. It could have happened under other circumstances and there would still be the regret. It wasn't like a decision we
made. It was a matter of 'let's get the kids to sleep, then we'll have dinner.' It wasn't a 'shall I, shan't I?' thing. I
feel desperately sorry to her that we weren't there.

This has touched so many people. I've had so many letters from mothers,
really kind words. People have said 'Kate, we've done this a hundred times over ourselves. Why would you for one minute think
something like that would happen?' It's not like we went down town or anything.

How did it happen?

People have said to me you're the unluckiest person in the world,
and we are. That night runs over and over in my mind, and I'm sure people will learn from our mistake, if you want to call
it that. But it is important not to lose sight of the fact we haven't committed a crime. Somebody has. Somebody's been there,
somebody's been watching. They took our daughter away and we can't lose sight of that.

There are still moments where I think 'how did that happen?' You can't
imagine in your wildest dreams that anyone would do something like that. It's awful for us but I have absolutely no idea what
Madeleine's feeling. [She pauses to hold back tears] How can someone do that to a child?

When we moved apartments we unpacked some of Madeleine's things. We
don't have a room for her set out or anything. I've kept her clothes together. She has lots of presents to open that people
have sent. Mostly people who don't know her, and pictures other children have drawn.

The twins know she's not there and they do miss her. But on a day-to-day
basis they are happy. They're lovely, like a little double act, they're so funny. They put their little rucksacks on, hold
hands and walk off around the room. They're fantastic.

The twins' reaction

Their vocabulary has come on so much since we've been here. The older
they get the more it stretches, and there are areas we're going to have to broach. But we'll let them take the lead. They
talk about Madeleine's things and if they get a biscuit they say 'one for Sean, one for Amelie, one for Madeleine'.

There are photographs of Madeleine all around and they comment on
them. They've got a lot of love and protection. We've taken professional advice just to check we're doing the right thing
by them. We have contact with a child psychologist when we need it.

When we went back to the UK for a family baptism there was an empty
seat on the plane and Sean said 'that's Madeleine's seat'. That caught me. Because I wasn't going home, it didn't feel too
bad leaving. It was important for me to go. The hardest thing wasn't being in the UK, it was to be with such a close family
and for Madeleine not to be there. I knew how much she'd have loved to be there ... Despite her small size she just has this
huge presence. She brings a lot of joy.

Amelie asked me afterwards, 'Where's Madeleine? I miss my big sister.'
I don't know where that question came from, it could have been because it was a family day. She's obviously made that connection,
she knows Madeleine's her big sister. Amelie will sometimes point at the Cuddle Cat [Madeleine's cuddly toy] and say 'Madeleine.
Her Cuddle Cat. Looking after it.' She's probably heard me saying that.

Sean said something the other day about Madeleine. It catches me.
Then they do whatever they're doing, like 'look at this Noddy', and they're on to something else. It's not dwelled on.

Gerry's reaction

Gerry's way of coping is to keep busy and focused. He needs to feel
like he's doing something. He's a very optimistic, positive person. I'm not always. With a lot of the campaign stuff, he has
done the talking. Sometimes I want to speak, but I just can't. It's not natural for me. Gerry's used to having to speak at
conferences and it's harder for me. But I'm equally involved. Every decision is mutual.

When Gerry went to Washington, he rang me three or four times a day
to ask me what I thought. Although I wasn't there in person I knew hour by hour what was happening. We knew it was a positive
visit. It wasn't about Madeleine in particular. We've learnt a lot and become aware of the bigger issue.

Other missing children

There are so many missing children out there, abducted children and
sexually exploited children. Once you know all that you can't turn a blind eye to it. Madeleine is our priority, but we have
to help. We can't just ignore those other children.

I don't know why the publicity's been so massive. We're normal people.
We don't have amazing contacts or anything, we just have strong friends. Everyone brainstormed and became very creative. They
did what they could and if that meant asking well-known faces, celebrities, it was done. They are normal people too. They
wanted to help.

I still have moments of panic and fear. It's not as intense and unrelenting
as the first five days. Now, obviously, we have hope and it's important to hold on to that. I do go back to those dark moments.
It would be abnormal never to touch on them. I do feel panic and fear when I'm thinking about her, but it doesn't help. I'm
not helping Madeleine by going there. It's important to channel those emotions into something positive.

Returning home

But I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go back into our family home.
I can't bear the thought of it. We'd lived in that house for a year and it was a really happy family home. We have so many
happy memories in that house. Madeleine's room is shocking pink. She chose the colour.

Obviously things change as the weeks and months go by. We haven't
got the pressure of Sean and Amelie starting school or anything. At the moment we're staying and we feel happier staying.
We are closer to the investigation. Some of that might be mad, I don't know. We don't know where Madeleine is, we don't think
she's in the UK but there's nothing to say she's any further from there than she is from here. It's a gut feeling. I'm aware
there's probably things that would be easier at home, but at the moment this is the right thing for us.

And it's hard to think about work. I'm not looking too far ahead,
but I can't drop the campaign, I know that. I can't turn a blind eye to it. We'll do whatever we can, working with other organisations,
to try to make a difference. It's so hard not to get involved, it's so intimate to us now that we can't ignore it. It's not
like I go round in a bubble, but I honestly did not realise the scale of this problem, children suffering like this.

The public's reaction

The criticism from the public is hurtful. I hate publicity, interviews,
anything like that. I just hate it. When things have happened in the past to children I've wondered 'how do you get through
that, how can you even live another day?' Then here we were doing press conferences. You just don't know until you're in that
situation. Like this morning: how did I get in the shower, have my breakfast?

I just go through the motions. Any parent would do anything they could
for their child. We're just doing what we feel is the best thing for Madeleine. Some people say the publicity will be harmful,
that she'll be hidden away because of it. But what can you do, just sit and do nothing? It's difficult. It's awkward. But
it's not about me, it's not about Gerry, it's about Madeleine.

As a couple, I think we're stronger than ever. We've got an equal
partnership. We don't row, we've never rowed. We have different strengths and have reached different stages at different points
but we help each other. We haven't talked about staying here for ever, we're just not looking that far ahead. We've had so
much support, mothers can empathise with me. Speaking now, on my own, is a way of saying thank you. They've given a bit of
themselves to me.

[Next Saturday will mark 100 days since Madeleine's disappearance]
I'm still hoping we're not going to get there. Every day I'm hoping we won't get to the next day without her. But we have
to keep going for Madeleine.

If I could say one thing to comfort her it's that we love her. She
knows we love her very much. She knows we're looking for her, that we're doing absolutely everything and we'll never give
up.

*

Note: Although appearing in the Independent, and a number of other papers, this interview was actually arranged and conducted
by the Sunday Mirror and then subsequently made available to other media outlets.

As it approaches 100 days since her daughter's abduction, Kate McCann tells Steven Swinford
in her first solo interview of her sense of guilt and the pain when her infant twins ask: where's Madeleine?

August 5, 2007

The mother of Madeleine McCann has apologised to her absent daughter, saying
she is "desperately sorry" for leaving her alone on the night she was abducted.

She also revealed some of the little girl's last words to her — and
that her toddler brother and sister still talk of Madeleine.

Kate McCann, 38, was speaking last week nearly 100 days after the four-year-old
was taken from the family's holiday apartment on the Algarve.

It
was the first time she had
given an interview without
her husband Gerry. The
tension showed on her face
as she described the regret
still plaguing her.

"I feel desperately sorry that we weren't there for her," said Kate. "Every
hour now I still question, 'Why did I think that was safe?'"

She recalled how happy Madeleine had been during the holiday, particularly
at the children's club where she played.

"Madeleine had a ball. They did swimming, went on a little boat, went to
a beach, did lots of colouring in and face painting," said Kate.

"On the evening before she went missing, before she went to bed, she said,
'Mummy, I've had the best day ever. I'm having lots of fun.'

"They had a little dance prepared for Friday."

Her voice dropped to a whisper as she added: "I don't know what it was.
I never got to see it."

On that evening, Thursday, May 3, Kate and Gerry left their three children
in the apartment while they went for dinner at a nearby tapas bar in the beach-side complex at the resort of Praia de Luz.

They were 20 yards from the villa and checked on the children every half
hour, she said.

But when she returned at about 9pm she found Madeleine had gone. She immediately
realised she had been abducted.

"I never thought for one second that she'd walked out. I knew someone had
been in the apartment because of the way it had been left. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt in my mind she'd been taken.

"There was about 20 seconds of disbelief when I thought, 'That can't be
right.' I was checking for her. Then there was panic and fear. I was screaming her name. I ran to the group. Everyone was
the same; it was just total fear."

Ever since then she has had to confront the guilt of knowing that, if she
had not left her children on their own, Madeleine would not have vanished.

"I've gone through all my life and said I never want to have any regrets,
but you can't not regret something like that," she said. "But it did feel safe and it did feel right. Maybe it was because
it was family-friendly. That week we had left them alone while we had dinner.

"I can't describe how much I love Madeleine. If I'd had to think for one
second, 'Should we have dinner and leave them?' I wouldn't have done it."

She has found that other mothers understand her mistake.

"I've had so many letters from mothers, really kind words. People have
said, 'Kate, we've done this a hundred times over ourselves. Why would you for one minute think this would happen?'"

The letters have helped her to keep perspective.

"It is important not to lose sight of the fact we haven't committed a crime.
Somebody has. Somebody's been there; somebody's been watching. You don't expect a predator to break in and take your daughter
out of bed." Kate, who has stayed in Portugal since the abduction, was speaking in the town of Lagos, a 10-minute drive from
the scene of the crime.

As she spoke, she clutched her daughter's pink toy cat. Around her neck
was a silver locket containing a picture of the four-year-old and engraved with the words "Tower of Strength".

The loss of Madeleine is all the more painful for her because she was a
desperately wanted child conceived using IVF.

"When we were trying for a baby and it wasn't happening, it was really
hard. When I got pregnant with Madeleine it was just fantastic," Kate said.

"It was a really uncomplicated pregnancy. I had no sickness, nothing. It
was so easy. I swam every day until the day she was born, to keep us both healthy.

"I didn't know I was having a girl until she was born. There she was, perfect.
She was lovely, she had the most beautiful face. It made it even more special that she was a girl. It took us by surprise."

By comparison with the easy pregnancy, the first six months of Madeleine's
life were difficult; yet her mother became noticeably more relaxed as she immersed herself in those early memories.

"She had very bad colic and cried about 18 hours a day. She had to be picked
up all the time, so I spent many a day dancing round the living room holding Madeleine. I remember trying to butter my toast
with one hand and holding her in the other."

Madeleine's independent streak emerged at an early stage. "She's always
had bags of personality, even as a baby she was quite determined and independent," said Kate.

When Madeleine was two Kate gave birth to twins, Sean and Amelie. The memory
of the siblings’ first meeting brought Kate close to tears.

"When the time came to bring Madeleine in, it was in the evening," she
said. "She came in and . . . just her little face. She sat with the twins for the first time and it was lovely."

For both Gerry and Kate, their campaign to raise awareness of Madeleine's
disappearance is a source of hope. But she finds the pressure of life in the public eye hard. While Gerry has answered questions
with the skill of a seasoned public speaker, Kate has struggled.

"I hate publicity, interviews, anything like that. I just hate it," she
said. "I just go through the motions. Any parent would do anything they could for their child. We're just doing the best thing
for Madeleine.

"Some people say the publicity will be harmful, that she'll be hidden away
because of it. But what can you do, just sit and do nothing?"

She revealed: "I still have moments of panic and fear. I do go back to
those dark moments. It would be abnormal never to touch on them. But it's not about me, it's not about Gerry, it's about Madeleine."

The twins provide a measure of normality. They are happy in each other's
company; but they show they are aware of Madeleine's absence. Such moments are crippling for Kate.

"When we went back to the UK for a family baptism there was an empty seat
on the plane and Sean said, 'That's Madeleine's seat.' That caught me, she said.

How are she and Gerry coping? "I think we're stronger than ever," said
Kate. "We don't row; we have communication."

Kate, a locum GP, and Gerry, a consultant cardiologist, have no plans to
return to work or the family home in Rothley, Leicestershire, without Madeleine.

"We have so many happy memories of that house. Madeleine's room is a shocking
pink. She chose the colour. At the moment we're staying and we feel happier staying. We are closer to the investigation.

"Some of that might be mad; I don't know. We don't know where Madeleine
is; we don't think she's in the UK."

The police investigation is showing little sign of progress. Last week
a child therapist in the Belgian town of Tongeren claimed she had seen Madeleine with a couple in a restaurant. While police
said the witness was "credible", there have been dozens of similar — and fruitless — sightings.

The couple plan to use the 100-day anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance
next Saturday to raise awareness of the plight of abducted children across the world. But Kate hopes the anniversary will
not need marking.

"I'm still hoping we're not going to get there," she said.

"Every day I'm hoping we won't get to the next day without her. It's a
long time, but we have to keep going for Madeleine."

The McCanns may one day have another child, she said, but not while Madeleine
is missing.

"It takes time and I'm not getting any younger," Kate said. But "Madeleine
is irreplaceable. I want her back. We just have to wait and see what life has in store for us".

What would she say to Madeleine if she could get a message to her now?
"I'd tell her we love her. She knows we're looking for her, that we're doing absolutely everything and we'll never give up."

Murat: new raid

Police investigating the disappearance of Madeleine McCann yesterday raided
the home of Robert Murat, the chief suspect, for a second time, write Steven Swinford and Brendan de Beer.

Two British detectives and about 10 Portuguese officers arrived at the
villa owned by Murat's mother Jenny in Praia da Luz at 7am yesterday.

They spent the day clearing undergrowth and cutting down trees on the property
as they prepared to conduct a forensic search of the garden. Guilhermino Encarnacao, director of the judicial police in the
Faro region and head of the investigation, refused to rule out the possibility that the garden would be dug up.

He emphasised, however, that the searches were "strictly procedural". He
said: "This is not a spur of the moment thing — it is something we have been thinking about doing for some time."

Murat initially refused to allow the detectives entry to the property without
the presence of his lawyer. He then spent the day away from the house, but returned in the afternoon, while his mother stayed
with a family friend.

Murat was declared a suspect 10 days after Madeleine was last seen, on
May 3, but has strongly denied any involvement in her disappearance. His house is about 100 yards from where Madeleine's family
was staying.

The search comes as police investigate a possible sighting of Madeleine
in Tongeren, Belgium. They are conducting DNA tests on a bottle and straw to find out if she was the girl seen sipping a milkshake
in a bar last Saturday.

I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like to be Madeleine
McCann's mother - I've felt haunted by the missing girl ever since she disappeared and I never even met her. I've dreamt about
her, hugged my own little girls extra tight and kept a particularly close eye on them whenever I've been out anywhere. I think
for all parents of young children this story struck a dreadful chord: what if it had been us, my family, my child. I've had
many conversations along the lines of 'would you have left your child to go out to dinner?' - there are no right answers to
that.

In an interview today Maddy's mother explains that leaving her children
at the time felt 'perfectly safe' and that she is tormented by guilt that she let down her beloved, much longed for and planned
for daughter. What haunted me about this interview are her comments about how she can never go home, never go back and live
in their old house in the UK. How she couldn't bear to walk into Maddy's shocking pink bedroom...

I know everyone out there has a view on this: what do you think?

Transcript of Woman's Hour interview, 08 August 2007

Transcript of Woman's Hour interview

Thanks to 'MsMarbles' for transcription

Jenni Murray:
Now this mornings papers yet again are full of the McCann's, the parents of Madeleine who disappeared from their holiday apartment
in Portugal nearly 100 days ago.

There's been a flurry of activity this week with forensic investigation
of the only named suspects garden, a detailed examination of the apartment, and the discovery there of what may be blood.
The McCann's have themselves appeared to be under suspicion as their car was searched, and some of today's headlines carry
their denial that they had anything to do with Madeleine's abduction.

Well Kate McCann has never before spoken alone in a broadcast interview.
I asked her how's she coping with the current developements in the investigation.

Kate McCann:
And obviously I can't talk too much about the investigation, umm, but, just trying to get through one day at a time to be
honest Jenni. Ermmmm, you know, some of the stuff we're not sure about anyway, and we don't know if it's true or not, so ermmm,
inhales audibly at this point we're just coping day by day really. Err, we've got
a lot of support, umm, very close family and friends, and as you're aware we've had a huge support from the general public.
Ermmm, and we're just trying to have ....inhales audibly again and next bit inaudible and
said within a kind of supressed laugh obviously with a mi .... as normal life as possible for, for the twins, you know.

Jenni Murray:
There has been a lot of speculation as well though that the Police have treated you and your husband, as suspects. How do
you handle that kind of very personal speculation?

Kate McCann:Inhales audibly Ermm, I think you just gotta exasperated
sigh think to yourself, I mean yo.. you need the investigation to be thorough and ermm, inhales
audibly you know, we, we'd welcome that really. Ermmm,
short
pause you know. You know what, we've got a very good working relationship with the Portuguese Police, and err
we've come a long way since the beginning of the investigation. inhales audibly and
I mean the Police are very open at the beginning, saying everybody is a suspect, and I think that's often the case in, in
many crimes as well.

Jenni Murray:
And yet of course now it seems that the detailed forensic examination is only beginning to happen now? And you know, things
like details of blood in the apartment which are only just now coming all over the British Press at at the moment.

Loudly audibly inhales Why do you
suppose that sortemphasise on the word 'sort' here of forensic examination is coming
so late, three months after Madeleine disappeared?

Kate McCann:Inhales loudly and for a few seconds. I'm sorry Jenni, I can't, I can't really talk
too much about the investigation. Ermm, obviously with Judicial secrecy and we are witnesses to a crime, so, inhales audibly I don't wanna do anything that will jepodise the investigation and possibly jepodise Madeleine,
so err, probably best if we can veer away a little bit from the investigation.

Jenni Murray:
How do you deal though, with the discovery of new forensic details, stories of you know, children being spotted in various
different parts of Europe, people taking DNA evidence from glasses incase it was Madeleine. How are you dealing with that
on a day to day basis?

Kate McCann:Longish pause If I'm honest, we don't read the papers very often, small kind of suppressed laugh ermm, an, and, that's largely because at the beginning, ermm, anything we did
read or anything we watched on the television, there's so much speculation and inhales audibly
speculation is upsetting and it, it doesn't help us, you know, so we, we t-try and veer away really. inhales audibly Ermm, the good thing that I'd say about the sightings, I mean we don't hear about them all
Jenni, but the good thing is it, it just you know, it, it says to us that people are still looking and that's really important,
so we'd encourage that.

Jenni Murray:
What do you remember Kate of the last day you spent together as a family?

Kate McCann:Longish pause and than a large intake of breath and tongue clicking noise I mean,
we'd had a brilliant holiday, we'd had a really good time, the kids had had a fantastic time, Madeleine herself had had a
ball. Inhales audibly Ermm, exasperated sigh
Again I can't go into specifics about the actual day, but, ermm, you know, Madeleine was very happy, y.. you know, we hadn't
done anythink out the norm of that week. Ermm, small pause you know, she, she, was
just very happy really, and, you know, my last memory of her is being very happy.

Jenni Murray:
We've read that she told you what a wonderful time she'd had that day....

Kate McCann:
Yeah

Jenni Murray:
.... How important is that for you to hold on to?

Kate McCann:
That's on, that's really important. I mean, it, I mean it was obvious to me that she'd had a really good week anyway. Ermm,
it just so happened that on the Thursday she said that was the best Kate emphasises on the
word 'best' day of the week she'd had. Ermmm, and, you know, she was quite tired but she was happy and tired. And,
erm, I mean, that's how I remember Madeleine.

Jenni Murray:
Lots of people would have asked you this question. You will have gone over this question in your mind over and over again,
but Why Did emphasise on the 'why' and 'did' you think that night that three such
young children would be safe, alone in the apartment whilst you went out?

Kate McCann:Audible intake of breath I mean it's a good question Jenni, and it's not..like.. I
don't keep going over that in my head, but I think the fact that I went for dinner, ermmm, and obviously we were checking
on 'em very regularly, ermm, inhales audibly says to me that I obviously felt it was
incredibly safe. If I'd have had to think for one second emphasise on the word second
whether that was ok it wouldn't have happened. Ermm, now why did I feel it was that safe? I could only assume I mean, I mean,
I don't know if you've been out to Praia da Luz, it's a very happy, ermm, calm, ermm, place, and it actually feels incredibly
safe. I mean I've never been to Portugal before, but a lot of my friends and family have, and they go because of it's a family
friendly place inhales audibly and I can only assume that you know, possibly I was
lulled into it, a false sense of security, I don't know, but, doe's a kind of tongue clucking
noise, then inhales audibly evr..everybody knows too we..we were dining very closely to where they were and we were
checking them very regularly, and voice raise here like it takes on a more positivity tone
to it the reason that we were then tone returns to as before checking them
regularly Jenni, was just incase emphasise on the words 'just incase' very fervently
somebody woke up, which they don't usually do.

I mean I never thought for one minute, and who would? You don't think for
one minute that something as awful as this would happen.

Jenni Murray:
How did you discover that she wasn't there?

Kate McCann:Longish pause then tongue clicking noise Again I can't go suppressed sounding laugh into too many details, but obviously when I went back to check on them, ermm, she
wasn't there.

Jenni Murray: And what was your first......Kate cuts into Jenni's question

Kate McCann:
And I knew ....

Jenni Murray:Jenni cuts back in .... What was your first thought, what did you think immediately
had happened?

Kate McCann:Pause, then the tongue clicking sound Wellll, I, I, obviously, I kind of looked and
double looked and, errmm, pause you know, there was that sort of twenty seconds of
'yeah she must be there', suppressed kind of laugh errmm, but there was no doubt in
my mind, withinsuppressed sort of laugh probably thirty voice
raises then lulls again for the word 'thirty' seconds, ermm, that Madeleine had been taken from that room.

I can't go into the reasons why I thought that, but it was inhales audibly no doubt whatsoever. Longish pause And Madeleine wouldn't
have walked out herself. I know that The words 'I know that' spoken with an air of complete
cocksuredness about them.

Jenni Murray:
We've read repeatedly that that you are someone who really does hate being in the public eye, you're a very private sort of
person.

Why then did you and your husband launch emphasise
put here on the word 'launch' such a high profile publicity campaign after Madeleine disappeared?

Kate McCann:
I mean what, what, what you said about me, Jenni, is absolutely true, I mean, I, I don't like, you know when you think public
eye. I, I'm, I don't particularly, I don't like having my photograph taken, I don't like doing interviews, I don't like doing
presentations. But inhales audibly It's not about me, d'ya know what I mean? It's
not about me, it's not about Gerry, it's about Madeleine. And we all do absolutely inhales
audibly anythink and everythink, err, which we think might help Madeleine... help find Madeleineinhales audibly and, you know, we don't know if we've done the right thing, we've just done what we felt was
the right thing to do and that was to publicise Madeleine's disappearance, and try and get as many people looking as possible.
And if that means I have to put myself in the public eye, well I have to get over that and do it.

Jenni Murray: But how much do you worry, as some people have suggested that it maybe can be counter-productive,
that it could motivate her abductors to hide her away?

Kate McCann:Longish pause, then tongue clicking noise, then audible intake of breath I mean we always knew, ermm, there
was a slight risk of that, and to be honest Jenni, I mean, everything we've done since Madeleine was taken has a slight risk,
and I mean, that's, that's a horrible situation to be in, to be having to take risks and to think that something you, you
do could possibly jepodise her, but, you know we had to make a decision and audible large
intake of breath we couldn't sit and do nothink and we honestly felt that it's the best thing to do. And what, what,
what we have heard recently from NICMEC, the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, in Washington, was they totally
backed what we've done, they've said 100% you have done the right thing. An..and their experienced, Doe's a kind of tongue clicking noise so.

Jenni Murray: Why do
you .... Kate interrupts Jenni's question, Kates's talk is unaudible here, but Jenni carries
on asking her question anyway .... do they think it, why do they think it's the right thing?

Kate McCann: Ermm, well, just, just, for an example, I mean obviously your NICMEC see, ermm, you know, the good
stories as well as the bad, and, you know, they're involved in children that are actually retrieved, and one in six of those
children that are retrieved is because somebodies recognised the poster of that child. inhales
audibly You know NICMEC have been, you know, been going for twenty four years now, and there's a huge number of err,
abductions, it's very sad there's a huge number of abduction in, in America, so they have got a great deal of experience.

Jenni Murray: Why did you choose to stay in Portugal?

Kate McCann:Quite Long Pause and then a very audible intake of breath
For me, err, And I know this may be possibly no logic attached to it. sound very much like
a suppressed kind of laugh here I just feel a bit closer to Madeleine here, ermm, and obviously we're closer to the
investigation here.

Audible intake of breath Ermmm, I know some of that might
sound a little bit audible short intake of breath bizzare, I don't know, but ermm,
you know, because we, we don't know where Madeleine is? She could be anywhere, ermm, and there's no reason to say that she's
closer to me here in Portugal than if I was in the UK. Urmm, I mean, I'm also aware that there's things that practically,
err, might be easier err, at home, but, if, ah, ah, it's just a gut feeling really, and at the moment this is the right thing
for us to do. I don't know how we'll feel Jenni tries to interrupt with a question that starts
'D.. do y' but Kate continues to finish her previous reply in a month's time or you know later.

Jenni Murray: What about the twins though? I wondered how worried you might be that your focus is so much on
Madeleine and perhaps not quite enough on the younger children.

Kate McCann:Longish pause and then the tongue clicking noise I mean, Shaun and Amelie you know,
but we're very aware of their needs and you know the first four or five days, you know, it was, it was very difficult to us,
to en, to function, ermm, audible intake of breath and obviously we were very reliant
on family, family then, to, to, to help us with the twins as well. Err, I mean, the huge emotional and physical impact, that
sort of accute grief reaction had, is, you know, undescribable really.

Audible intake
of breath Ermm, but now w.. we spend a huge emphasise put on the word 'huge' here
amount of time at the twins, I mean, they, you know, they certainly wouldn't get to spend this amount of time with Gerry if
were at home and he was working. Audible intake of breath Ermm, you know, they, they
go to the kids club in the morning for a couple of hours, which is a little bit like the nursery at home and they get to do
lots of creative things as well as sort of swimming and things like that. Short audible intake
of breath We tend to spend the whole afternoon with them and the evening until they go to bed. So any work or meetings
that we have, get done in the morning or late in the evening. Ermm, but th.. they're very, very happy, they've always been
surrounded by loving, protective family and friends if we're not there. And we've taken professional advice as well, just
to check that everything we're doing for them is, is thought to be correct.

Jenni
Murray: How have you explained to them what might have happened to Madeleine.

Kate
McCann:Tongue clicking and audible large intake of breath We haven't had to
to be honest, I mean, th.. they've only just turned two and a half, ermmm, ermm, you know, and th.. they don't have any concept
of time. I mean they're very aware that Madeleine isn't there. Ermmm, and they, they, they have commented that they missed
her, errmm, and obviously th.. there's photographs of Madeleine, you know, around the accomodation, we talk about Madeleine
a lot, err, they refer to Madeleine's things, you know, sort of Madeleine's bag, Madeleine's Cuddle Cat, and they include
her in their play. You know, they'll say a biscuit for Shaun, a biscuit for Amelie, a biscuit for Madeleine. Ermm, but we
haven't at this stage had to go into any details, and to be fair Jenni, we haven't actually got very
small pause a story we can tell them at the moment, because we don't know what's happened to Madeleine. All that I've
said to them is that we're, you know, w.. we're looking very hard for Madeleine, but even things like that, that, you know,
it's a split second thing and then they're off playing with Noddy or you know, whoever. You know, they don't, they don't dwell
on it, they're actually very happy and don't appear distressed at all.

Jenni Murray:
How hard is it for you though when they seemed to be reacting as if Madeleine in any way is still there?

Kate McCann:Pause, then tongue clicking noise and audible intake of breath
I mean sometimes it does catch me, obviously, urmm, you know, if it's sort of unexpected and they suddenly start talking about
her, ermm, ermm, but I, but I'm pleased they're talking about her, I don't want them to forget Madeleine I want them to, you
know, for Madeleine to remain very much in their memory, so ermm, does kind of tongue clicking
noise yeah, occasionally it catches me, but it's good that they're talking about her I think.

Jenni Murray: It seemed to those of us looking on, as if it it's been an incredibly hectic time for you when
some people might think your, you know, I might have just wanted to retreat home. You've been travelling the world, how helpful
is the activity?Kate McCann:Quite long pause
then audible intake of breath I mean I think it does help. I mean there's, you know, we discovered from the minute
that we realised that Madeleine had gone, how awful, helplessness feels. Ermm, so we've basically just tried to stay focused
and positive and think of, and take advice, but think of anythink that we feel might, benefit, big
emphasise on the words 'might' especially and also 'benefit' ermm, you know, of, of us finding Madeleine really. Errmm,
and obviously by keeping active by publicising her disappearance, ermm, we've felt we've done that, certainly for Gerry, ermm,
he has been, he's coped much better when he's been doing something, when he's been focused.

Jenni Murray: And what in fact has it had on your relationship with your husband, I mean especially if he's the
one especially whose benefitting from going, rushing around the World and you're at home with the Children?

Kate McCann: Yeah, I mean, to be honest I haven't been many trips Jenni, where we've been seperated. I mean I
know he went to Washington, but that was only a few days, and obviously at home Gerry has to go to conferences and stuff,
so there isn't, there's nothing out the normal here from that point of view. Err, we're lucky that we've got a very strong
relationship, we've always had a strong relationship, and ermm, I mean communications always been important for us and we're
well aware that it's vital at the moment. Ermm, you know, we've got strengths and weaknesses you know, we reach different
points at different times I guess, but we're managing to keep togerther and pull each other through when we need to.

Jenni Murray: And how do those strengths and weaknesses balance themselves out? I mean, what,
what strengths and weaknesses does Gerry have and what strengths and weaknesses do you have?

Kate McCann:Very long pause, tongue clicking noise and a large audible intake
of breath Ermm, I mean, you know, as I've mentioned before, sort of Gerry's strengths, he's used to speaking in public,
ermm, and he handles that very well, ermm, exasperated sigh Mine, I don't really like
talking about my strengths too much. said with ta kind of laughbut, ermm, you know,
I mean I'm happy kind of doing you know, s.. some of the kinds of perhaps the domestic stuff, as well you know, the cooking.
Ermm, I mean the important thing really is whatever we've done we tend t.. to pair up as a team. Ermm, you know when Gerry
went to Washington we felt it was better that one person went rather than both of us. Ermm, but it was vital for us to kind
of audible intake of breath keep in, ermm, contact regularly throughout that time,
so often, we were on the phone three to four times a day just so I could be aware of, you know, who Gerry was meeting, what
was getting discussed, or if there was anything that between us we needed to decide we could. Audible
intake of breath And I think we're a very good and equal partnership really. Jenni
Murray: How do you get through the time between the frantic activity, the quiet times and the nights?

Kate McCann: Yeah, ermm, they often are as I say, very much with, with err, with Shaun
and Amelie. So, audible intake of breath you know, we're usually playing with them,
sort of role play or reading stories or you know we're go for a walk, or they'll go for a swim or something, so, I mean that's,
you know, very much as normal as we're going to get at the moment.

Ermm, evenings usually y.., you know, they're going
to bed a little bit, the twins are going to bed a little bit later than would be normal at home. Ermm, tongue clicking noise and a large audible intake of breath so, often we just kind of, ermm, we have the usual
nighttime stories and then as I say one.. once they've gone to bed, we'll usually get on and do a little bit more work really.

Jenni Murray: Do you sleep at night?......

Kate McCann: ..... Kate interupts Jenni, just as Jenni gets her question acrossWe
tend to, we tend to have, replies to Jenni's question with 'Yeah' then carries on
dinner together, certainly still lunchtimes and evening meals are spent together as a family. And I describe those as very
normal.

Large audible intake of breath Ermm, sleeping through the night, yes.
I do actually. I mean, the first four or five days was ermm, does that tongue clicking noise
I didn't sleep really, ermm, as I mentioned earlier it was very hard t.. to function at all. Ermm, but now I'm fine, actually
I don't I'm usually quite tired to be honest by the time we get to bed. But I haven't had any problems sleeping.

Jenni Murray: How much hope do you still have that you will find Madeleine alive?

Kate McCann:Longish pause, tongue clicking noise and audible
intake of breath I do still have hope Jenni, in fact I probably have more hope now than I did right at the beginning.
Ermm, it's also very important to hang on to that hope really, I mean it's so important to stay focused and positive and audible intake of breath you know, we haven't had any news to the contrary that Madeleine
isn't alive, you know, and th.. and that's very important audible intake of breath
and there have been many cases of Children that have been found, ermm, much later than this, so again that's reassuring, so
the hope's still there.

Jenni Murray: And at what point do you think you and
Gerry will have to accept that it's time to come home and pick up the pieces?

Kate
McCann:Audible intake of breath Again I don't know, I mean that's very much
a day by day, week by week thing really. And I can only audible intake of breath think
that when the time is right, I'll know. Certainly at the moment it feels right to be here. But, as I say things might change
and suddenly it'll be lright to be at home. It's very, ver.. very difficult one to predict really.

Jenni Murray: And how will you deal with the guilt that will probably stay with you forever of having left Madeleine
alone?

Kate McCann:Very long pause, tongue
clicking noise and a large audible intake of breath I have actually come to terms a little bit with, with that Jenni,
I mean, you know, audible intake of breath I know the ermm, exasperated sigh I know the situation that we were in that night and I mean, I've said all along I didn't feel
I was taking a risk.

large audible intake of breath Ermm, yeah, I, I, I, I
do feel desperately sorry I wasn't with Madeleine at. that. minute. when she was taken. Ermm, I'd also like to mention I've
had so much support from so many people, I've had so many letters and comments sent me .. sent to me from other families and
particularly other mums saying, you know, we have done what you've done a hundred times over, do not blame yourself. Ermm,
does tongue clicking noise and certainly when I'm in my car and when rational moments
Jenni, I know how much I love my children, and I'm, I know how responsible I am and that's what I have to hang on, hang on
to really.

Jenni Murray: and wha.. when you look at the sort of work that Gerry's
done, particularly in America, and there's sort of people you've been in contact with who have real expertise in these matters,
what sort of lessons can be learned from what's happened to you?

Kate McCann:Very long pause, tongue clicking noise and a large audible intake of breath,then a very audible
exasperated sigh I mean, I think it, it's important that the general public are informed really, as the scale of the
problem, you know, I.. I'd like to think I'm a fairly well read person and, ermm, I was horrified really of you know, the
things that I've learnt about since this happened. Ermm, ....

Jenni Murray:Jenni interrupts Kate's answering, with another question .... What sort of things are you
horrified by?

Kate McCann: The scale of the problem, err, the number of children
that are abducted, ermm, you know, the, for example just, I mean, I think the problem that we have a little bit in Europe
is there's just, statistics aren't all there basically. Ermm, but I, I had some statistics passed on to me from PACT, which
is err, Parents and Abducted Children Together. And in England and Wales alone, and that's just England and Wales, ermm, sort
of the 2002 -2003 year, there were a thousand, ermm, attempted Stranger abductions. Does
a kinf of tongue clicking noise Now, a hundred of those just under 10% of those, ermm, were does a kind of tongue clicking noise actual abductions. I don't like to use the word successful even though
I think that's probably the word that's used, but a hundred children were taken by Strangers. Longish
pause and then carries on in a matter of fact manner/way to fishish the sentence And as I say, a thousand were attempted.
I mean, I, I think that's huge just for England and Wales. And we don't know what the scale of the problem is in Europe.

Ermm,
I think it's really important that people, parents, know these kind of things and just to take extra care. I mean, hopefully,
what, you know, we'll be able to do things that might change some of these things. That might improve things, make the World
a little bit safer for children, but in the meantime I think parents should be aware really and just take extra care.

Jenni Murray: And what sort of lessons do you think authorities need to learn from the way,
what happened to you was handled?

Kate McCann:Long
pause and then tongue clicking noise and large audible inhaling of breath Ermm, I think they need to be, exasperated sigh err, have systems in place across Europe, really, for a, a quick response to a child that's
gone missing, and particularly a child that's been abducted. Ermm, and it probably needs to be a Europe wide response. Ermm,
there's other things as well, I think all Countries in Europe should have a Sex Offenders Register, and probably, ermm, CRB
checks should be in place throughout Europe.

I mean a lot of what I've learned to make comparants... comparisons with
are obviously, err, the imformation that's come from the States. And, err, they do seem to be a little bit ahead, quite a
bit ahead rather, ermm, with reacting to situations like this.

Jenni Murray:
What's next for you now, Kate? Er, I mean, I know you don't want to go into any details of the current investigation is all
forensic discoveries, but immediately now, where do you go from here?

Kate McCann:Longish pause, then tongue clicking noise and large audible intake of breath Well
you know, I just hope Jenni, fr.. you know every day I'm hoping that we don't get to the next one. And, I mean it is true
when I say we really just try and deal with it one day, ermm, and then the next ermm, and take it as it comes really. I mean,
you know, I don't feel I can go through anything worse than this. In my life, you know, so, I feel I can probably handle most
things now.

Jenni Murray: when ever we see you in a picture, you're, you're
carrying Madeleine's toy with you.

How important is that that you keep that close?

Kate McCann: You know Cuddle Cat, Cuddle Cat's with me now actually Low laugh
at the moment. I mean, Cud.. Cuddle Cat was err, is very special to Madeleine, and, ermm, she took it to bed every night and
she tended to have it if she was feeling tired or if she was feeling unwell. And because it was special to Madeleine, it's
special to me. And, ermm, you know, it does provide me with a little bit of comfort.

Steve Boggan: Tomorrow, Madeleine McCann will
have been missing for a hundred days. The 3-year old went missing from a holiday apartment in the Portuguese resort of Praia
da Luz as her parents, Kate and Gerry, dined with friends nearby. Kate McCann told the Guardian's Steve Boggan about the moment
she returned to the flat and discovered that Madeleine wasn't there.

Kate McCann: We were checking on the children
several times an hour and, errm... I'd gone back to check them and, you know, it was quiet and, errm.... I went into the room
and, errr... Madeleine wasn't there, errm... you know, and I just thought... kind of, kept looking, kept thinking she
must be, she must be in her bed and, errr... and that was a horrible, errm... panic and fear, errm... I mean there are other
things that I can't... I can't describe to you because it's part of the investigation but, errm... I mean, there was not...
there was no shadow of doubt that Madeleine had been taken to me and that's why the panic and the fear was so immediate and
real and, errm... it was awful, you know, and, errm... you know, I guess I felt I'd let her down - desperately sorry,
really, errm... that we weren't there the minute she was taken... you know, and we went from the kind of the... the panic
and the fear to that total feeling of helplessness... you know, not knowing what to do and, errm ... it was just awful really.

SB: This week the Portuguese police were examining
spots of blood in the apartment, but the McCanns remain optimistic.

KM: I mean, in the first few days we really thought
that was the worst and it was just awful, it... I mean, it was just the worst experience ever, errm... now I guess it's...
it's... you see, there's probably a lot more hope now than we... than we did in those first few days and, errm... don't get
me wrong, we're not blinkered and, errr... obviously you... we still have those dark thoughts but they're not helpful, you
know, they're not helping us, they're not helping Madeleine.... and sometimes you've just gotta... blank them out. I guess,
if we're honest, you know, if Madeleine wasn't alive now then we'd rather know that... but then, you know, we don't know that,
you know and we're very... hopeful, in fact we're probably, as I say, more hopeful than we were at the beginning. And what
we don't want to do is look back and regret not having done absolutely everything we can.

SB: Some people in Praia da Luz want the McCanns
to leave. They say their continued presence there is bad for the town's image, but Kate McCann told the Guardian, they're
staying put.

KM: I mean, it's a difficult one and I think
you'll just know when the time's right, I mean, it's... I mean, it's not right for me at the moment, erm... but I do feel
closer to Madeleine here, here close to the investigation. We don't know where Madeleine is, you know, and there's no reason
to... to say that she's close to here than she is to the UK but it's just... it's just... it's just a feeling I have at the
moment. There are day's when you think to yourself, how am I managing to function here and I can assure people from outside
looking in, cos I know I've done it myself in the past when there's been sort of similar cases or things that have happened
to children, you think how does anybody cope with that. And you can't understand how anyone can function, and certainly like
the first four days we didn't, you know... didn't eat, didn't sleep and errr... you know... eventually your body comes back
to normal a little bit... but you have to, you have to keep going, so... I mean, errr... as soon as I wake up I'm aware Madeleine
isn't there, you know, and I usually... and I always say a very quick prayer to myself before I get up and... obviously we've
got Sean and Amelie so, errm... they get up fairly early and it's a case you've gotta make things as normal as possible for
them, you know, and they need love and protective parents as well.

SB: Relations between the McCanns and the Portuguese
media have deteriorated in recent days, with hostile lines of speculation about the couple.

KM: I mean, the criticism's very hard, you know
and... and... you know, it's very hurtful. It's totally unhelpful. Errm... uhhh, I mean, it's, you know, I mean, considering
what we're going through already and how awful it is... it... it does seem very cruel but, I mean, when I'm kind of thinking
logically, I think, you know, I know that this is a small group of people, you know. A huge majority of the public are behind
us and they've been fantastic and... I'm so, so grateful for, you know, everyone that's come up and wished us well. You know,
I've had thousands of letters from, you know, other mums and stuff and, errr... every line of every letter they've written
has helped us, it's helped us get through another day. You know, you've got to remember who's committing the crime here, it's
the... person that was watching us and broke in and took Madeleine out of the bed.

Kate talks to Women's Own magazine, published
13 August 2007

Kate McCann said, responding to a question that Madeleine may
be dead: "I've never liked uncertainty. And this is the worst kind of limbo."

"Gerry and I have spoken about this and in our heart of hearts we'd
both rather know - even if knowing means we have to face the terrible truth that Madeleine might be dead. We both need to
know."

Kate said Madeleine was a strong child - but she wished her daughter
had her "Cuddle Cat" with her. Mrs McCann has been pictured clutching the toy when appearing in public.

She said: "She has a lot of personality and her name actually means
'tower of strength'. But she hated it when we called her Maddie - she'd say, 'My name is Madeleine', with an indignant look
on her face."

"I bet she's giving whoever she's with her tuppence worth."

She added: "In a way I wish they'd taken this with her (Cuddle Cat).
It would be a comfort to know Madeleine had something she loved, wherever she is."

She said Madeleine was permanantly in her mind - and she was just
going through the motions of life.

"Whenever I laugh with the twins or eat something nice - it's always
there in the back of my mind, 'Madeleine would love this'."

"I suppose I'm really just going through the motions of life hoping,
every night when I go to bed, that this will be the last day I'll have to get through without her."

She also responded to criticism of her and her husband for leaving
their three children alone in their flat while they dined in a nearby restaurant on the night Madeleine disappeared.

Mrs McCann said: "I ask myself, 'Why did I think it was safe?' But
it felt safe. You don't expect a predator to break in and take your daughter."

Criminal Profiling Topic of the Day: Open Letter to Kate McCann, 24 October 2007

As a criminal profiler, I have also sometimes been
criticized for theorizing about a case I have not personally been privy to the actual facts from inside the investigation.
As I do a lot of television commentary, this is quite often the case for me; I only can theorize based on the "facts" outlined
by the media. Therein lays the difference between public speculating and true criminal profiling as part of an investigative
team. The latter is going to be one hell of a lot more accurate!

Still, all is just theory until the crime is solved. Everyone doing the analyzing and paying attention to
this theory and that knows that any "determination" is only based upon the validity of input. The only harm theorizing can
do is if the police detectives theorize incorrectly about the evidence or bring in an expert who theorizes incorrectly and
bases the entirety of their investigation decisions on this particular theory. If, on the other hand, the theory is accurate,
then the investigative avenues will be pursued correctly, or, if the theory is interesting but not necessarily correct, the
police will pursue a number of investigative strategies to cover all bases.

Are the PJ doing this? I haven't a clue. I cannot assume they are any way inferior to other police departments
in the UK or in the US or elsewhere in the world. Each department consists of individuals and it is a roll of the dice as
to how good these particular individuals are at investigative work. I remember when Natalee Holloway went missing in Aruba,
folks from the fine state of Alabama accused the Aruban authorities or incompetence and shouted how if Natalee had gone missing
in the United States the case would have been solved quickly. Bunk! We have an ungodly high rate of unsolved murders and missing
people here in the US, a good number of them right in Alabama. Fact is, some cases are hard to solve and some cases have detectives
who are all that bright. Other cases have better evidence or top notch detectives. It isn't a perfect world.

So, what do we know so far in Maddie's case? Not much. We have zero clue about the evidence or the veracity
of the witnesses. All we really have so far are the unvarnished public statements by the McCanns and I don't mean the ones
reported by the media in print as those can be misstated by the journalists (and I know this because I often quite displeased
when I read in print some completely twisted version of what I told the reporter).

So, all we can truly be sure of is what the McCann's have stated on television or radio or in Gerry's blog.
Even their PR team's information is a bit questionable if we can't hear it being said.

Before I comment further, I want to reiterate that the McCanns, while suspects in the disappearance of Maddie,
are not legally charged with any crime. Therefore, they may be totally innocent of hurting Maddie in any way. But, I will
also say, we as adults and members of the human race are also responsible for the way we behave and the things we say, so
we must also take responsibility for the way other view us.

Therefore, based only on what the McCann's said or written. I have some advice for the McCanns. SHUT UP! I
have some advice for their PR team. Tell the McCanns to SHUT UP!

OPEN LETTER TO KATE MCCANN

Yes, Kate,

It isn't your breast size or weight that is causing your problems. It is you and your narcissist evaluation
of the situation and your PR team's equally stupid assessment of the situation that is making you look so bad in the public
eye.

I am a criminal profiler with years of experience dealing with parents of murder victims and missing relatives.
Your behavior and the behavior of your husband fall far outside or the norm for grieving parents. Now, this may be because
you are just terribly narcisstic folks who had nothing to do with your child going missing (outside of neglecting your children
and putting your needs to party before their needs for comfort and safety, a narcissistic behavior if I have ever seen one).
You and Gerry may simply be so narcissistic you have no understanding of how other people view your behaviors and your PR
team may share your narcissism so that no one on your team has a clue to normal human behavior.

But, SHUT UP! Every time you open your mouths you do more damage to yourselves. You seem guiltier by the day.
Your attempt at "damage control" is so obvious and so very much a day late and a dollar short, everything you do or say seems
a cover up and a transparent attempt at proving your innocence.

Let me make clear what I think is weird about what you say and do:

You choose words about Madeleine's disappearance which make it appear you know there is no abductor and that
Madeleine is dead.

Both you and Gerry state your only guilt in the matter is not being their when Madeleine "was taken." This
statement makes no sense for abduction as Madeleine could not be taken if either of you were with Maddie when an abductor
would have shown up. It makes more sense in the context that Maddie died while you were not in the apartment.

Your statements and attitude about Madeleine being alive do not square with parents who really believe their
daughter is in the hands of a pedophile or pedophiles who are brutally raping and torturing her daily.

Your attempts at "finding" Madeleine do not represent the manner most parents would choose if they were actively
searching for a live child but appear more to be the actions of parents trying to prove after the fact of a child’s
death that they "cared" (not care) about her.

Your behaviors of "keeping a normal routine" and "keeping up one's appearance" is admirable, but extremely
bizarre. I don't know any other parents of missing children who can appear so together and cheery. When my daughter cooked
our kittens by accident in the dryer, I cancelled Christmas.

Gerry's blog creeps people out. It is too upbeat. Terrified and distraught parents of missing children are
rarely able to jog and play tennis and go to park with their other kids and have a fun time. Over a long period of time, maybe,
but this is usually years after the nightmare begins. Some parents never recover from the trauma and it is common for marriages
to fail and the brothers and sisters to feel their parents went absent after their sibling went missing.

Your ability to sleep at night after the first five days, Kate, is beyond belief. It is the behavior of one
who already knows the answer and even then, is quite a narcissistic trait. If you believed your daughter was being raped as
you lay in bed at night, sleep would be very hard to come by. I guess you finally realize this and your mother is saying that
NOW you can't sleep and Madeleine comes to visit you in the night. What changed, Kate?

Your PR team coming up with an answer to every accusation, answers that are ludicrous in themselves, makes
you seem awfully defensive, and, if there is no way you or Gerry had anything to do with Maddie's disappearance, you have
nothing to defend. Furthermore, if all you care about is finding Maddie, you shouldn't be wasting your time on such silliness.
After all, as Gerry said, Maddie is the only important thing, right?

So, SHUT UP, Kate. SHUT UP, GERRY. Fire your PR
team as they are totally worthless. If both of you really are innocent and you think Maddie is alive, return to Portugal.
Start searching for real (and it took six months to set up a hotline?). Cooperate with the police. Take the polygraphs as
you have zero to hide and, with competent polygraph examiners, the questions are so simple you can't screw them up. I will
even give you the four questions that should be asked:

"Did Madeleine die while you were present?""Did you return to the apartment and find Madeleine dying or
dead?""Did you move Madeleine's body at any time?""Did your spouse move Madeleine's body at any time?"

These are simple questions. The answer to all of them should be "No." There is no ambiguity in these questions
(unlike a question such as "Do you feel
responsible for the disappearance of Madeleine?" which you could if you acknowledge
leaving her without an adult caretaker is irresponsible; an affirmative answer to such a question would be useless to the
detectives as it could falsely indicate that you had something to do with Maddie going missing when you are only feeling guilty
over leaving her unattended. Also, an affirmative answer could mean you simply do not feel responsible for what happened to
Maddie no matter what happened to her as a total narcissist might).

The above four questions are simple and unambiguous
and even a narcissist can't misconstrue the meaning of the questions. The answers will be a simple "Yes" or "No." Have the
polygraph session videotaped so the police will be unable to do any underhanded scare tactics or interrogation that might
distort the results of the tests.

Quite frankly, Kate, you and Gerry had everything going for you as parents of a missing
child if you hadn't left your children unattended night after night to go out partying. THIS is what made people dislike you.
It was to your advantage that you are both relatively attractive people because IF you had big breasts and a porky physique
and were not well-heeled professionals, you would have become suspects right off the bat and you would have not had the incredible
monetary support you have been blessed with nor all those kindly letters. You would have been viewed as just a pair of slobs
who probably abused their children as well as neglected them and you wouldn't have gotten the phenomenal amount of publicity
worldwide concerning Maddie's disappearance. Other parents have gone public, run campaigns, and had web sites, but your fortune
with publicity and support has been unprecedented. And, you complain, Kate, that people are treating you badly because you
are fit! It was being fit and professional and well-off that got you so much attention. It was you and Gerry's fitness as
parents and your peculiar behaviors that got you the negative attention.

I have a final suggestion. Ask the PJ if I can come analyze the case. My organization will send me pro bono.
As a criminal profiler I can analyze the actual evidence to advise the investigators as to the best investigate strategy.
I have no problem determining this crime as an abduction and finding the creep that took Madeleine if the evidence points
that way. I don't have to like you and Gerry as people to view the evidence in an impassionate and professional manner. No
one should be convicted of a crime simply because of personality and because people don't like the individual's personality.
Solid physical and circumstantial evidence must exist to the point where there is no question as to who committed the crime.
I would work very diligently to assist the PJ with the evidence and the facts and do a thorough crime scene analysis that
would move the case forward.

Furthermore, if you and Gerry get charged in Madeleine's disappearance and must truly
defend yourselves, my services are available to you and your lawyers. I will be more than happy to analyze the evidence and,
if you are innocent, do all I can to serve in your defense.

Good luck, Kate. May the truth be brought to light soon
and you and Gerry get the justice you deserve in the case of your missing daughter.

All the best,

Criminal Profiler
Pat Brown

Criminal Profiling Topic of the Day: Why Does Kate McCann not make a Plea to Maddie's Captor?, 25
October 2007

Criminal Profiling Topic of the Day: Why Does Kate McCann not make a Plea to Maddie's Captor?
The Daily Profiler

Criminal Profiler Pat Brown

Thursday, October 25, 2007

In the recent interview with the parents of Madeleine
McCann, Kate McCann states she believes Madeleine is alive, essentially unharmed, and being cared for in someone's home. If
Kate really believes this, then there is a glaring omission in her use of the media.

It is extremely abnormal for a mother who thinks her child has simply been taken by some lonely person and
being cared for in a nice, little house to not reach out to that person with a message, over and over again. After all, this
would be one way to get your child back. Here is how that kind of message usually goes:

"If you have Madeleine, please return her to her family. I know you may love having Madeleine with you but
her Mommy, her Daddy, and her sister and brother are in great pain being separated from her. Please, please, let us have her
back. Please take her to a public location where there are lots of people around like a McDonalds or a library or a hospital
and drop her off. You can do this anonymously so you do not have to worry about being noticed. We are not interested in having
any action taking against you; we just want our little girl at home with us. Thank you for taking good care of her and please
send Madeleine back to us."

But, instead, no plea to her captor? Very, very bizarre.

Which remind me: I have never heard of an expert telling parents to be unemotional in a plea to a kidnapper
so as not to amuse them. Personally, I have to say most pleas are a waste of time and will have no effect on a psychopathic
kidnapper. But, if one wanted to make a plea because one really believed the abducted child was not already dead or being
tortured in a dungeon, that the child was with some nutty woman who just had to have the pretty little thing, then an emotional
plea would be just the thing to try to jog the woman's conscience to return the child.

Kate McCann has revealed
that she struggled to control Madeleine McCann after the birth of her and Gerry's twins, it was revealed today.

Missing Madeleine would run around 'screaming...shouting for my attention', the mother-of-three said.

In an interview given to a Portuguese magazine before she was named as a suspect in the case
of the four-year-old's disappearance, Kate also said the first six months of Madeleine's life were "very difficult"
and that the girl had suffered from colic.

The revelations come as police said they were
trawling through Kate's medical records amid suspicions in Portugal that she may have had a history
of depression.

The detailed analysis of her medical notes could provide them with significant
evidence against the GP, who is a suspect in the case of Madeleine's disappearance.

This period explained "the
strong bond between mother and daughter", she said.

Although the arrival of the twins
Sean and Amelie shook up Madeleine's life, she accepted them very well, said Kate.

"She
managed to deal perfectly with this new reality, although she herself at the time was still a baby.

"The worst thing is that she started to demand lots of attention, especially when I was breast-feeding them.

"She would run up and down screaming in the background, shouting for my attention."

Mrs McCann also insisted that she and her husband were "truly responsible parents" and had committed
no crime.

Speaking of the night Madeleine disappeared, she said: "I was sure immediately
that she didn't walk out of that room. I never doubted that she had been taken by someone.

"I went through a phase of guilt for not knowing what happened to her. I blamed myself for thinking that the place
was safe.

"But the certainty that we are truly responsible parents has helped me carry
on.

"I know that what happened is not due to the fact of us leaving the children asleep.
I know it happened under other circumstances."

Asked about whether she and her husband
were responsible for their daughter's disappearance, she said: "It cannot be considered a crime. Someone committed
one, but not us."

Portuguese newspapers continued to report today that Mrs McCann will
be re-interviewed in the UK this week by British police on behalf of the Algarve authorities.

But a spokeswoman for the McCanns said the couple had to date received no request for new interrogation.

The judge in the case, Pedro Daniel dos Anjos Frias, rejected prosecutors' request to have the McCanns
brought back to Portugal for further questioning, the Correio da Manha said.

He insisted
that the fresh interviews should be carried out by British police in the UK, according to the paper.

The re-interviewing will only take place when further DNA testing in Birmingham is completed, either tomorrow or Wednesday.

A letter of appeal will be sent to Britain, setting out all the questions Portuguese detectives
want to ask the couple, along with the evidence supporting their hypothesis, the Correio da Manha reported.

A source told the paper there was only a "very low" probability that Portuguese officers would be
allowed to sit in on the interviews.

A McCann family spokeswoman said today: "We have
been in touch with the lawyers to try and get a steer on what is in the Portuguese papers.

"They assure us we have had no request to date for any further questioning, either from the Portuguese police or in
the UK."

She could not say whether the McCanns' legal team was expecting the couple
to be re-interviewed.

Since Kate and Gerry McCann were named as official suspects last week,
there have been suggestions in Portugal that Madeleine was given drugs on the night of her disappearance.

The accusations have been strenuously denied by the couple but have not been ruled out by police. Although
the order to seize medical files came from the Portuguese authorities, the background searches are being carried out by Leicestershire
police.

A copy of Mrs McCann's diary has also been seized by police, who are now waiting
for permission from the judge to seize and dismantle the McCanns' hire car so they can search for "traces of skin".

It has been reported that DNA evidence with a match to Madeleine was found in the Renault Scenic
25 days after their daughter vanished.

Yesterday it emerged the McCanns are trying to knock
down potential evidence retrieved after two British sniffer dogs, capable of detecting blood and human remains, were used
in the investigation in August.

One of the dogs picked up a "scent of deathî on
items ranging from Mrs McCann's clothes to Madeleine's favourite soft toy Cuddle Cat.

Leaked reports from the investigation have suggested that Madeleine's parents could have accidentally killed her and
then disposed of her body using the car. Although they do not know the full details of the Portuguese prosecutors' case
against them, the McCanns are concerned that it may rest on the dog's reaction.

The couple's
legal team has now consulted the lawyers of an American man accused of murdering his estranged wife in a case where "cadaver
dog" evidence was central. They want to highlight the judge's dismissal of such evidence in the high-profile Eugene
Zapata murder trial in Madison, Wisconsin.

Mr Zapata's estranged wife, flight instructor
Jeanette Zapata, was 37 when she vanished in October 1976 after seeing her three children off to school.

Her body has never been found. Detectives suspected Mr Zapata of involvement in her disappearance but did not
charge him because of a lack of evidence.

Police decided to conduct new searches using cadaver
dogs and Mr Zapata, 68, was charged with firstdegree murder last year after the dogs indicated that they had scented human
remains in an underfloor crawl space at the former family home and other properties linked to him.

But the judge ruled that the dogs' ability to detect remains was too unreliable, noting that no remains had actually
been found.

Kate
McCann has told of how Madeleine cried for 18 hours a day as a baby and demanded constant attention
when her twin brother and sister were born.

In an interview with a Portuguese magazine, the
39-year-old GP is reported to have discussed her daughter suffering from colic and how, at 20 months old, she reacted to the
birth of twins Sean and Amelie.

Mrs McCann's intention seems to have been to illustrate
how she and Madeleine bonded so closely during those early years, when mother and daughter were rarely separated.

But her interview was seized on by detectives as valuable evidence in the profile they are building of her.

Officers are seeking medical records to build up a case that she was incapable of controlling
four-year-old Madeleine - and that the strain could have provoked her into violence while on holiday in Praia da Luz.

The question of Mrs McCann's relationship with her children first arose last week after the Portuguese
press published details alleged to have come from a diary she kept in the Algarve.

The diary
extracts purported to demonstrate that she admitted she struggled to cope with her children, and had difficulties with Madeleine
because she sapped her strength and emotions.

Mrs McCann's interview with Flash! magazine
was conducted before she and her husband Gerry were named as suspects in the case and before the diary details were published.

In it, she spoke openly about her experiences in being a mother to Madeleine, candidly admitting
that the first six months with her were "very difficult".

She explained that Madeleine
frequently suffered from colic as a baby and, as a toddler, demanded a lot of attention after the birth of the twins.

"She cried practically for 18 hours a day," she said. "I had to carry her around permanently."

This period explained "the strong bond between mother and daughter", she said.

Although the arrival of the twins shook up Madeleine's life, she accepted them very well.

Mrs McCann is quoted as saying: "She managed to deal perfectly with this new reality, although
she herself at the time was still a baby."

Her interview emerged as the police case
against the couple appeared to be crumbling because of doubts over the reliability of any forensic evidence.

Sources told the Daily Mail that officers may even research information on Munchausen's syndrome by proxy
- the condition can compel parents and other adults to harm children.

It has become a routine
line of inquiry in child murder investigations since the case of Beverley Allitt, the hospital nurse who killed four children
in 1991.

Allitt was convicted in 1993 on 13 charges of murder and causing grievous bodily
harm.

Those suffering from the condition often have a high knowledge of medical practice.

In the context of this case however, the suggestion was being seen as another attempt to blacken
the McCann name and put the couple under pressure.

In the interview, Mrs McCann insisted
that she and her husband were "truly responsible parents" and had committed no crime.

Speaking of the night Madeleine disappeared, she said: "I was sure immediately that she didn't walk out of that
room.

"I never doubted that she had been taken by someone.

"I went through a phase of guilt for not knowing what happened to her. I blamed myself for thinking that the place
was safe.

"But the certainty that we are truly responsible parents has helped me carry
on.

"I know that what happened is not due to the fact of us leaving the children asleep.
I know it happened under other circumstances."

Asked about whether the decision to leave
them meant she and her husband were responsible for their daughter's disappearance, she said: "It cannot be considered
a crime.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT.
THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED

(...)

CLARENCE MITCHELL, MCCANN FAMILY SPOKESMAN:
Kate and Gerry want the process to be as open and transparent as possible. They have nothing to hide. And if -- I stress,
if any case is finally put to them as a formal accusation, then they will defend themselves robustly. Until that happens,
they have nothing to say about reports of how the investigation is or isn't going.

LEMON: Our prime time team,
our "AC 360" team of course "Keeping Them Honest." And our Randi Kaye joins us now from the McCann's
home town of Rothley, England.

Hi, Randy.

RANDY KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Don. As you
just heard there, Clarence Mitchell speaking earlier today here in Rothley about the McCanns. In fact, he said that he does
believe they are innocent. And they're willing to go to Portugal because they have nothing to hide and they are willing
to give more interviews.

Right now the judge there in Portugal can decide -- has to decide actually by Friday what
to do with the McCanns. He can put them under house arrest. He can call them back to Portugal for more questioning. Or he
can leave them here to be questioned by police here in the U.K. That decision has not yet been made.

But as far
as the McCanns go, they're still continuing to get some mixed press both here in the U.K. and in Portugal. The papers
this morning in London certainly were more in their favor than they have been.

But there's a Portuguese magazine
called Flash, and they are saying that Kate McCann had given them an interview, now it's unclear through the family spokesperson
when this interview was given, if it was done before or after she and her husband were named as suspects.

But in
this interview according to the magazine, she said that the first six months of Maddie's life were very difficult. She
cried practically for 18 hours a day. "I had to permanently carry her around." The magazine also said that Kate
told them that after the twins were born, Madeleine started to demand lots of attention. "She would run up and down screaming
in the background, shouting for my attention."

Now the spokesperson does confirm that Kate McCann did speak
to that magazine, but says that is not what she said. The spokesperson says that Kate told him Kate did not complain to the
magazine at all about Madeleine being colicky or demanding more attention.

On the ground here, we continue to talk
to family and friends who are still coming out in support of Kate and Gerry McCann, saying they are wonderful parents.